Kapitel 83: Chapter 83: The All-Powerful and Inescapable Wood Style, The Immortal Duo is Dead
The space inside the barrier wasn't large, and each of Yagyu's Wood Clones possessed a significant amount of chakra. The Water Style techniques they unleashed were just as powerful as those of Yagyu's original body.
As waves surged forward, they quickly overwhelmed Kakuzu, who hadn't had time to release the masked creatures from his back to use Earth Grudge Fear or cast a complex jutsu to destroy the forest. At the same time, the water rapidly filled the space inside the Four Violet Flames Formation barrier.
In just a few moments, the rectangular barrier had turned into a pool filled with water.
Had the barrier not been so sturdy, with its purple, transparent walls that could burn with fire, it might have burst under the pressure of the water. Even now, the barrier was beginning to evaporate some of the water.
Submerged in the waves, Kakuzu was not only battered by the water but also lost his ability to move or escape.
However, one of the hearts within Kakuzu's body had the power to use powerful Water Style techniques.
Even though Kakuzu hadn't separated this heart from his body, his Water Style proficiency was strong enough that he didn't lose his combat ability right away.
If he were only facing Yagyu's Wood Clones, Kakuzu was confident he could still turn the tables.
But in the next moment, a scene unfolded that plunged Kakuzu into despair.
The trees inside the barrier, as if imbued with life by some creator, suddenly came alive.
Branches, like tentacles, stretched toward Kakuzu, attempting to bind him.
Kakuzu used his Water Style proficiency, dodging through the water with the agility of a swordfish.
However, more branches grew from the trees, and vines sprouted from those branches, quickly filling the water like seaweed.
Without a 360-degree field of vision, Kakuzu focused on dodging the branches and vines in front and to the sides, but in a moment of inattention, a vine wrapped around him from behind.
At that instant, Kakuzu's eyes widened—he knew he was done for.
Sure enough…
In no time, the branches and vines completely bound Kakuzu, wrapping him up like a mummy.
Kakuzu felt the chakra in his body draining rapidly, and soon, he became incredibly weak.
Meanwhile, the vines and branches binding him grew even tougher.
In just a few breaths, Kakuzu, whose chakra reserves were comparable to those of an elite Jonin, had been completely drained of his chakra.
This was the most inescapable power of Wood Style and the reason why Hashirama Senju alone could make the entire ninja world obey and avoid war.
In the face of Wood Style, the so-called "sheer numbers strategy" was meaningless.
In fact, the more enemies there were, the stronger Wood Style became.
With just one technique, Deep Forest Emergence, all non-flying shinobi were left in utter despair.
The entire forest was created from Hashirama's chakra.
Within this forest, Hashirama had the perspective of a god and could control every tree to use Wood Style jutsu.
Even if the enemy could fly or burrow underground, Hashirama could manipulate tree roots or transform the trees into wood dragons to attack them.
And the enemy's elemental jutsu had no effect on Deep Forest Emergence. All the chakra within those jutsu would be absorbed by the branches, only enhancing the forest's power.
Those caught by the branches would be wrapped up like mummies, continuously providing chakra to the forest, making the trees even tougher.
This wasn't even Hashirama's full power.
If he wanted to end a battle quickly, he could make flowers bloom on the trees, releasing paralyzing pollen. Even a Kage-level shinobi would lose their combat abilities after inhaling just a small amount of this upgraded Flowering Deep Forest Emergence.
Against such an enemy, even those on his level would be heavily suppressed, let alone those weaker than him.
When all the shinobi of the world together weren't enough to face him, that person was no different from a god.
This is why Hashirama Senju was called the God of Shinobi!
His Wood Style was an all-encompassing Kekkei Genkai, with abilities in offense, defense, support, sealing, and large-scale attacks.
This is why Konoha's higher-ups secretly conducted Wood Style experiments, hoping to produce a second Wood Style user.
If Konoha had another Wood Style user with the ability to absorb chakra, they wouldn't need to fear the jinchuriki of enemy villages.
Just like the Sharingan, Wood Style was a natural counter to tailed beasts.
Thud, thud, thud…
After the branches and vines drained Kakuzu's chakra, they released him.
Without the restraints, Kakuzu floated in the water, lifeless.
As he was about to drown, six sharp branches stabbed into Kakuzu's head and into the five hearts inside his body.
The sound of weapons piercing flesh echoed, and the masks on Kakuzu's back shattered.
Whoosh—
As Kakuzu's life came to an end, blue and white lights suddenly burst from his body.
Several beams of light flew out, forming numerous blue and white orbs floating in the water—visible only to Yagyu.
Swoosh…
Seeing that Kakuzu was dead, Yagyu's Wood Clones quickly deactivated the Four Violet Flames Formation.
Tons of water immediately flooded the surrounding trees.
The water level rose to about two-thirds the height of the tree trunks.
But soon, the water seeped into the ground and gradually disappeared.
All of the Wood Clones, except for one, dissolved back into trees.
The remaining Wood Clone swiftly moved to Kakuzu's corpse, picking it up with a look of slight disgust.
There was no helping it—Kakuzu's body was now grotesque and revolting.
His masks had shattered, and with his death, all the stitches in his body had burst open, with countless black tendrils wriggling out—remnants of Taki Village's forbidden jutsu, Earth Grudge Fear.
Perhaps because Kakuzu had just died, the tendrils were still writhing slightly.
Watching the blue and white orbs that had automatically flown toward the real Yagyu, the Wood Clone silently prayed that none of the orbs contained Earth Grudge Fear.
Though it granted longevity, Yagyu definitely didn't want to end up looking like Kakuzu.
So if Earth Grudge Fear did appear, Yagyu had no intention of using it.
It would only take up space in his inventory.
In Amegakure, inside a steel-like building…
The moment Kakuzu lost his life, Nagato, who was in a dimly lit, enclosed space, suddenly opened his Rinnegan, the purple ripples in his eyes widening.
Noticing the change, Konan, who was always by his side, worried that something was wrong with his body and asked anxiously, "Nagato, are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine, but..."
Nagato shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Something must have happened to Kakuzu."
"Something happened?"
Konan was slightly startled. "What happened?"
"I don't know. I just sensed through the ring that his chakra disappeared."
Nagato formed a seal with his hands, as if sensing something, and then opened his eyes. "Even the chakra linked to his ring is gone. Hidan's chakra is also changing. They must have encountered a powerful enemy, and Kakuzu is likely dead."
"Could his arm have been severed?"
Konan suggested, "Kakuzu has five hearts and five chakra natures. Apart from you, there are few in the ninja world capable of killing him."
"I don't know."
Nagato shook his head and closed his eyes again, making a hand sign. "They're in the Land of Birds. I'll have Zetsu check it out—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Nagato opened his eyes again, saying in a heavy tone, "Hidan's chakra has disappeared as well."
Hearing this, Konan's expression finally changed in shock. "Could they have betrayed us?"
"No, Hidan's chakra faded gradually."
Nagato's face darkened. "He was likely killed slowly. The enemy probably discovered his immortality and used some technique to destroy his body."
"I'll go check it out myself."
Konan turned to leave.
"Don't. Let Zetsu investigate first."
Nagato immediately stopped her. "If they were able to kill both Kakuzu and Hidan so quickly, it must be someone of great importance in the ninja world. Now is not the time for you to expose yourself."
"I understand."
Konan's expression darkened as she remembered something. "Kakuzu is our treasurer. I hope he didn't take the funds scroll with him on this mission."
"Go check it."
"Alright."
Just as Nagato had said, Hidan was indeed dead—and he had been killed slowly.
Other than Black and White Zetsu, who were almost non-combatants, Hidan was the weakest member of the Akatsuki, though also one of the most dangerous.
As long as Hidan obtained his target's blood and performed his ritual, his opponent was almost guaranteed to die unless they had some special ability or countermeasure.
Of course, his curse technique had its limits.
But where those limits lay, Yagyu didn't know—and didn't want to find out.
Fearing that Hinata and the others would get hurt by Hidan, Yagyu had immediately used Deep Forest Emergence and then employed his nearly unbeatable strategy:
Deep Forest Emergence + Four Violet Flames Formation + Exploding Water Colliding Wave!
Without a way to escape the barrier or the power to destroy it, being trapped in Yagyu's formation meant certain death.
Kakuzu hadn't even had the chance to use Earth Grudge Fear or any combination jutsu before being ruthlessly killed by Yagyu.
After eliminating Kakuzu, Yagyu didn't wait for the orbs to fly to him. He immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to return to Team 3 and Team 8.
At that moment, it was still Lee's showcase.
Even though Hidan had his skull and neck smashed by Lee's Front Lotus, he still wasn't dead.
So, without hesitation, Lee opened the first gate of the Eight Gates to counter the side effects of Front Lotus, boosting his speed to 100%. He gradually opened more gates, just like when he fought Gaara, treating Hidan like a punching bag.
Unlike Gaara, who had the Sand Armor, Hidan, who often fought by exchanging injuries and starting rituals after drawing blood, was terrible at taijutsu.
If not for the fear of Hidan's abilities, even Choji Akimichi could have easily taken him down.
Facing a faster and stronger Lee, and without his blood-soaked triple scythe, Hidan had no choice but to endure the beating.
But when Lee opened the Fourth Gate and used the Reverse Lotus to slam Hidan into the ground, creating a massive dust-filled crater…
Hidan still didn't die. He soon crawled out of the pit, covered in blood, and sneered at Lee, "Kid, are you done yet? It's my turn now!"
With that, Hidan, like a rabid dog, charged toward Lee, who was barely able to stand, incapable of moving quickly and staggering as he walked.
Hidan no longer cared about retrieving his scythe. He was determined to tear a chunk of flesh from Lee and begin his ritual immediately.
Seeing this, Neji and the others, who had been unable to intervene earlier, prepared to act.
But just then, a branch burst from the ground, wrapping around Hidan's legs like a tentacle and quickly coiling around his body like a snake.
"I... I can't move…"
Hidan struggled to speak, his voice strained.
"It's Wood Style! Yagyu is back!" Hinata exclaimed joyfully.
Neji and the others turned to the forest behind them, only now realizing the source of the earlier earthquake.
"So this is Yagyu's hidden trump card?"
Shino tried to sound calm, but his voice trembled slightly.
Veins bulging from his temples, Neji's eyes shook as he said, "Such a large area... this level of chakra... Is this the God of Shinobi's Kekkei Genkai?"
"Gulp..."
Tenten swallowed hard, unable to utter a word out of pure shock.
Like Naruto, her entire worldview seemed to shatter.
Her strongest technique was throwing weapons, with a range comparable to some ordinary ninjutsu.
But her junior, who was a year younger than her, could summon an entire forest. Anyone would feel dumbfounded by that.
Having never seen a jutsu of such magnitude, Tenten felt as if she and Yagyu weren't even from the same world.
Meanwhile, Yagyu had already appeared in front of Hidan, who was immobilized by the Silent Strangling Jutsu.
Ignoring Hidan's angry glare, Yagyu made a hand sign.
Splat—
In the next second, a sharp branch shot up from the ground, piercing Hidan's skull.
"You can't kill me…"
The intense pain didn't kill Hidan, and he even had the strength to mock Yagyu.
But in the next moment, Hidan's eyes widened in shock.
His face and skin began to shrivel at a visible rate, as if all the moisture in his body had been drained.
That's exactly what was happening.
The branch that pierced Hidan not only drained his chakra but also all the nutrients from his body.
Within moments, Hidan's body lost all its functions and became a dried-up corpse.
Hidan's immortality wasn't true immortality.
Even the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and Sage-level shinobi didn't possess true immortality, so how could Hidan, who wasn't even Kage-level, have such an ability?
In the original story, Hidan was buried alive and starved to death from a lack of nutrients.
Now, as a dried-up corpse, there was no way Hidan could survive.
With Hidan's death, it marked the end of the Akatsuki's Immortal Duo—both of them were now dead!
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